A solid (non-pneumatic) or flat-free tire generally is puncture-resistant and does not blowout under high loads, which makes it suitable for slow-moving industrial cargo applications that require heavy lifting. As such, this type of tire is typically implemented and functions as a conveyor wheel or drive roller in power-drive units (PDUs), transmission devices, forklifts, hand trucks, medical-mobility equipment, lawn mowers, automobiles, freighter common turntables for aircraft, etc.
A two- or three-inch cargo PDU tire, for example, experiences a vertically downward-acting load and a traction load acting on a cross-section of the tire. The vertical load mainly contributes to high strain at a location of an edge of the tire (referred to hereinafter merely as “the edge strain”) while the traction load mainly contributes to high strain on a center of the tire (referred to hereinafter merely as “the center strain”). These strains together are dictated by design of an assembly of both the tire and a corresponding hub. For such a design, the strains are inversely proportionate to each other subject to changing thickness of the assembly. More specifically, while one strain increases, the other decreases and vice versa. In this way, it is not possible to decrease, for instance, the edge strain without affecting the center strain.